1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to food-safety and especially to methods for safeguarding food production from food-borne diseases.
In particular, this invention concerns a method for food preservation and disinfection utilizing a low temperature delayed onset aqueous phase oxidation solution.
2. Background Art
Food sanitation is of serious concern to public health officials in view of the increased frequency of wide-spread outbreaks of food-borne diseases, such as hepatitis A, and other illnesses caused by salmonella, shigella, and E. coli bacteria. Of particular concern is the effectiveness of existing food-safety programs including inspection procedures. Food poisoning has also become more prominent for the reason that consumers are eating more minimally prepared foods. These foods are commonly processed at central locations for shipment to stores and restaurants. This provides additional opportunities for foods to become tainted in transit or during processing. The contamination and general spoilage of perishable food products is typically caused by the growth of microorganisms, enzyme actions and chemical reactions.
A commonly used method for preservation of food products is by refrigeration and/or cold storage. Low temperatures retard deterioration of the food product by slowing and/or inhibiting microbial activity and by decreasing the rate of adverse chemical reactions within the food.
In regard to specific food products, such as sea food, fish, beef, poultry, fruits and vegetables, these foods are usually chilled and packed in ice before shipment to food processors and wholesale food markets. The amount of time food can be preserved under cold storage depends upon the type of the food, the temperature, and other variables.
A shortcoming of dependence upon cold storage preservation techniques is that ice packing of food has time limitations and refrigeration by a mechanical equipment is usually expensive. A further deficiency of refrigerated storage is that after the food is removed, microbial activity increases rapidly.
The food industry has supplemented refrigeration techniques with chemical additives such as by treating ice with chlorination. The use of chemical additives, however, is subject to governmental restrictions and limitations. Other additives, such as tetracycline, have also been incorporated in ice for preserving freshly caught fish. A problem presented by chemical additives is that they must be rendered inert or the residues must be removed from the foods in compliance with F.D.A. and U.S.D.A. standards as promulgated in Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) protocol.
It has been noted that oxidation treatments, such as by use of ozone and hydrogen peroxide, leave little or no residue in the finished food product. The application of ozone as an oxidizing agent for food sterilization was discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,602. Another food manufacturing process utilizing hydrogen peroxide was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,706. The above-mentioned patents have integrated the oxidation method into the food processing procedure and are not directed to the combined functions of preserving and disinfecting of food products.
The application of ozonated water in a food disinfecting process is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,237 as applied to sanitizing poultry carcasses. The use of ozone for sanitizing citrus fruit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,631. The processes discussed in these last two mentioned patents do not rely upon a delayed onset oxidation procedure.